TEHRAN -- In his visit with the Turkish Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Mehdi Eker here on Monday, Iranian Minister of Agricultural Jihad Massud Mirkazemi stressed the need for the two countries to sign preferential agreements aimed at boosting the trade level.

“Preferential agreements and holding expert-level negotiations enable us to create suitable atmosphere for the encouragement of the private sectors of Iran and Turkey to participate in each other’s economic activities,” the official added.

Emphasizing the need for settlement of the existing problems, the two sides discussed the ways to improve economic and trade ties.

Referring to the cultural, economic and social commonalities an joint borders, Mirkazemi said that holding such meetings would be of great significance in the further familiarization of the two sides with each other’s potentials.

He put emphasis on expansion of relations between countries and maintenance of peace and security in the region.

For his part, the Turkish minister referred to the close relations between the two countries and called for boosting investments in each other’s economic and industrial sectors.

During the first Iran-Turkey joint agricultural committee’s meeting, the two countries have reached an agreement to cooperate in a variety of fields, including fisheries, animal husbandry, and water and drought management, in the framework of a bilateral cooperation protocol that was signed on September 30, 2002.